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Mark Primary

Many data analysts typically begin to work with data as a single flat table. While this works for small datasets, as the size of the data grows these naive methods do not scale. Processing records takes longer, queries become more complex, and introducing new datasets is inconsistent at best. In order to solve these problems, we must take into account the underlying architecture of our data and how it should be modeled. During this talk we will discuss key concepts, patterns, and techniques for designing a data model that is simple to query, scales with your data, and is extendable to new datasets.

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Mark Primary

Continuous integration, delivery, and deployment are common elements of modern DevOps practices. However, it’s rare to see these practices put into place for data-centric applications, like databases, ETL, data warehouses, or reports. In this session, we’ll cover why these approaches are beneficial for the data organization and the pieces you need to have in place to be successful. We’ll also cover some of the prime trouble spots that organizations run into, as well as some tools that can help jump start your efforts.

Mark Primary

You’ve spent days (or even weeks) getting the data perfect. After a few days, you've put together a dashboard that is so flashy it could be on display in Times Square. You check in with the stakeholders a month later only to learn they no longer use it. :(
Your diagnosis: Shiny Object Syndrome. It’s real. It’s prevalent. And almost completely preventable.
In this session you will leave with 5 field-tested rules to follow when creating visualizations that will make your users return to your dashboard over and over…and compel them to share it with others!

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Mark Primary

Azure Machine Learning Studio is one of the most intuitive and approachable machine learning tools in the market today. In this intermediate session, we'll see four techniques for maximizing the power we get from it, building production-quality machine learning models in a fraction of the time it would take in other tools. The best part...still no Ph.D. required! Get ready to be inspired as we unleash the power of the cloud on our data to see what Azure Machine Learning Studio is truly capable of!

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Mark Primary

Ever had a manager standing over your shoulder, wanting to know why an instance is running slow or if it can handle additional workload? What information would you use to answer these questions? If only you knew what performance metrics to collect and had them for your existing instances to answer these questions.
In this session, we will be combining three open source tools - Telegraf, InfluxDB, and Grafana - into an inexpensive system that collects performance metrics you can use to troubleshoot issues and answer important questions about your SQL Server instances, including your Linux SQL Server instances. We will learn what metrics to collect, how to use the tools to collect performance metrics and then we'll put it all together in an interactive dashboard for easy visualization.

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Mark Primary

In order to effectively monitor SSIS performance, troubleshoot errors and understand the data linage in the production environment one needs to implement the package logging and Data auditing. SSIS already contains an Audit Transformation Component that captures information about the package metadata and the environment in which the package runs.
However, what if you encountered an error, or a package failure? Suppose, a Data warehouse developer is performing an ETL to load a Dimension of a Data mart and would like to track the Data being processed. Audit Transformation Component cannot perform the job effectively.
So lets have an insight of how Auditing can be done by designing an SSIS package that captures the Error information, DML operation on the table (Inserts/Updates/Deletes) along with the package metadata.
We'll create a package with an event handler that loads Data from a Staging to Dimension and creates an Audit table to track information on Data processing.

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Mark Primary

This session is a technical overview of data platform choices in Azure, with a focus on analytical and big data solutions. We will cover several reference architectures prevalent for cloud-based systems. Key criteria for selecting components of a multi-platform analytics architecture will be shared, such as: data latency, schema changes, data formats, data integration vs. data virtualization, scalability, and user tools/language support. Attendees of this session will become familiar with the most commonly used data services in Azure, including considerations for making sound decisions when designing a data architecture to support analytics and big data.

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Mark Primary

Database corruption could happen to you. When it happens to you, do you know what to do? Will you realize quick enough that you have corruption?
The presentation begins by talking about how to detect the corruption and the different strategies for handling unique corruption issues.
Highlight of topics
1. Why corruption occurs?
2. Detecting corruption – how SQL Servers detects corruption at the page level.
3. Different types of corruption- e.g. False alarms, memory corruption etc.
4. Limitation of DBCC & how to speed the DBCC process.
5. Undocumented DBCC commands.
6. Monitoring I/O errors.
7. Verifying backup for corruption.

Mark Primary

Every DBA should know about database corruption because it can be a resume generating event. A corrupt database can ruin your day, affect system stability, lead to unnecessary downtime, and possibly data loss.
In this presentation we will explore database corruption, learn how to diagnose, and see what we can do to fix it. We will discuss the causes, dispel some myths, and learn what questions to ask. After this, we dive into discovering the root cause and putting a plan in place to stop it in the future. Demos will illustrate diagnosing, troubleshooting, and fixing database corruption. Prepare to break a database and go through the steps to return it back to a usable state.
Beginners will benefit along with others who may one day find themselves with a corrupt database. By the end of the session, you will have the tools and understanding necessary to take corrective action and prevent your databases from corruption!

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Mark Primary

Unless you are developing code by yourself, you face challenges of working with several team members. Different people are changing code which affects the code someone else is working on. In addition, there will be teams working on different projects at the same time. In the middle of the projects, an emergency fix needs to be deployed to Production. So where is the code, when do you shared it with others, when do you get the code that has been shared, where is the production code branch located. How do I branch and when do merge? How do I get a release branch? Let me share with you how we are handling this area of DevOps.

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Mark Primary

Power BI has many amazing features built in to help guide a user through understanding their data better. Some of the most recently added features like Drillthrough, Bookmarks, Spotlight and the Selection Pane have made digital storytelling even more exciting.
In this session, you will learn how to leverage these features to tell a story with your own data.

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Mark Primary

Postgresql is an Open Source, Free, and a Popular alternative database for building software applications. In this session, we will look into Getting started with Postgresql, Review unique features that make it exciting to work with and wrap up the presentation with strategies to deploy and scale for on-premise and cloud deployments.

Mark Primary

Overview of PowerShell Basics and how to manage SQL server using PowerShell scripts. In this session you will learn the basics on building scripts using PowerShell and then learn the basics of using PowerShell for SQL server administration.

Mark Primary

Azure SQL Database offers a way quickly spin up new databases with minimal management requirements. However, the number of differences between on-premises SQL Server and Azure SQL Database can be overwhelming. Even worse, with DBaaS it’s not clear who is responsible for what anymore.
In this session, we will cover all the basic steps of getting your first Azure SQL Database instance spun up. We’ll cover common gotchas, like firewall settings and resource locks. We’ll also dive into some more advanced options with templates, allowing you to make your processes reproducible.
By the end of this presentation, you’ll understand if Azure SQL Database is the right choice for you and your needs. You’ll understand how it can simplify management and allow you to scale easily. Finally, you’ll have the confidence to go and create your own instance with ease.

Session Conflict!

Mark Primary

When you create a new database do you ensure you have done everything you can to give it the chance to shine when things get tough? How many times have you seen a database created with all the defaults and down the road it becomes out of control due to the size, amount of data or even activity? If you really want to ensure your database can scale and perform well at all times you need to do the proper homework before you create the database. We will walk thru the various factors that affect performance and scalability under real life conditions and help you understand how to properly configure them up front to avoid issues down the road. Scalability is all about having a proper foundation to build on.

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Mark Primary

One of the most popular libraries in R is ggplot2, a graphics library built on a concept called the grammar of graphics. In this example-heavy talk, we will learn about the grammar of graphics through ggplot2. We will start by building a series of simple visuals using ggplot2. Then, we will show how easy it is to add more and more complex functionality to our visuals, showing that we can incrementally add polish to our visuals. By the end of the talk, you will have the tools to build professional-quality visuals in R.

Mark Primary

Your databases are growing and consuming ever-increasing amounts of storage. This rapid unceasing growth creates difficult challenges managing query response times, backups, recovery time, data transfer and essential maintenance. What's a DBA to do? SQL Server data compression is a proven option for saving storage space and improving performance.
In this presentation you will learn how data compression works, how to determine when data compression is the right option, and other planning and implementation considerations.